Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Tuesday flagged off a direct flight between Odisha’s Bhubaneswar and Rajasthan’s Jaipur.
Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Minister Ashok Chandra Panda and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi were present on the virtual occasion.
The IndiGo airline will operate three flights in a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Scindia said he inaugurated the direct flight so that people of India in western and eastern parts would get connectivity between them.
This would boost tourism potential and ensure cultural exchange. Scindia informed that efforts are on to enhance passenger handling capacity of Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar to 35 lakh with an investment of Rs 200 crore. Now the airport’s domestic terminal has a capacity to handle 25 lakh passengers and the international terminal a capacity of 300 passengers per hour, he said.
Aparajita Sarangi said she has urged Scindia for direct flights from Bhubaneswar to Jammu, Siridi and Guwahati.
The Odisha Government has extended the initial incentive to the IndiGo for commencement of the flight operation. It will provide Rs 75,000 per round trip to the airliner.
The direct flight from Bhubaneswar to Jaipur will depart from Bhubaneswar at 9:05 pm and arrive at Jaipur at 12:10 am.
The flight from Jaipur will departure at 6:30 pm and reach Bhubaneswar at 8:35 pm. Besides, eforts are on to operate daily direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Goa from December, an official said.